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After two disastrous elections in 1964 and ‘65, smouldering ethnic tensions exploded in January 1966. Prime Minister Balewa and the premiers of the northern and western regions were assassinated by a group of mostly southeastern Igbo army officers. A military administration was set up under Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, whose plan to abolish the federal regions further stoked ethnic tension. In July 1966, northern officers staged a countercoup, Aguiyi-Ironsi was assassinated, and Yakubu Gowon came to power. The massacre of thousands of Igbo in the north prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the southeast, where a separatist movement developed. In an attempt to defuse tensions by giving greater autonomy to minority ethnic groups, the four regions were divided into 12 states. Relations deteriorated further, and in 1967, three states in the eastern region seceded, as the Republic of Biafra. A civil war ensued until Biafra was defeated in 1970, and the territories reincorporated into Nigeria.
From military rule to the Second Republic and back again
Despite a huge, oil crisis funded increase in government revenue, General Gowon was removed in 1975 in a bloodless coup, amid dissatisfaction at the corruption of central government, and delays in returning the country to civilian rule. Murtala Muhammed, assassinated in 1976, replaced Gowon. Muhammed’s chief of staff, Olusegun Obasanjo, then became leader. Obasanjo shared Mohammed’s desire to return the country to civilian rule, and continued other policies, like the moving of the federal capital to Abuja. A constituent assembly was elected in 1977 to draft a new constitution, published in 1978 when the ban on political activity was lifted.
In 1979, northerner Alhaji Shehu Shagari, of the right-wing National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was elected president. Ordinary Nigerians saw little improvement in living conditions or moral guidance from the return to democracy. Despite his shortcomings, Shagari was returned as president in a 1983 election marred by violence and allegations of vote rigging and electoral malfeasance. On December 31 1983, the military stepped in, replacing Shagari with Muhammadu Buhari. Ibrahim Babangida peacefully replaced Buhari in 1985. Despite increasing press freedom and releasing political detainees, Babangida kept a firm grasp on power. After abortive elections in 1993, sabotaged by Babangida, Sani Abacha assumed power until his death in 1998.
The Abacha regime proved to be Nigeria’s low point, marked by the curtailment of due process of law, press freedom and human rights. Abacha’s successor, Abdulsalam Abubakar, had little choice except to reintroduce democracy, or see the country collapse. In 1998 and 1999, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held elections for all levels of government. Former ruler Olusegun Obasanjo ran as a civilian People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for president and won.
The return of Obasanjo and the blossoming of democracy
Shortly before Obasanjo was inaugurated, a new constitution, based on the Second Republic, was introduced, sharing power between executive branch and the office of president and increasing powers to the judiciary. Conditions improved under Obasanjo, and he was re-elected in 2003, in the first civilian-administered elections since the country achieved independence. Despite some ethnic and religious tensions, Obasanjo managed to maintain peace, even during the difficult process of the transfer of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon. In 2006, Obasanjo’s proposed constitutional amendment to allow him to stand for a third term was rejected.
Umaru Yar’Adua was selected to stand as the PDP’s candidate and was declared the winner of the largely peaceful presidential election in April 2007. It’s a testament to Nigeria’s strengthening democracy that in the 2007 national legislative elections, over 35 political parties took part. The Yar'Adua administration has shown unprecedented restraint in allowing the legislative and judicial branches to operate free from influence.
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